CUSTOMIZED CYBERWARE

A Shadow Clinic is the place to obtain the best, smoothest, slickest, and most expensive cyberware available. Most of it is not even made from recognizable technology, but it works. The name Shadow Clinic comes from the fact that they're unlicensed and underground, existing deep in the shadows. The established medical profession definitely disapproves of the "experimental medicine" they practice.

BARGAIN BASEMENT CYBERWARE

Second-hand cyberware does not necessarily break every time a character uses it - only when it is crucial that it not break. Once per adventure (and only once), the gamemaster may have the player make a Resistance Test for the piece of cyberware. Roll 5 dice against a Target Number of 4, modified by circumstance as the gamemaster sees fit. (For example, if it is a cheap cyberarm and the character is dangling from it off a building, the Target Number could go as high as 8.) Normal Karma rules apply, but it costs 2 points of Karma per die re-rolled.

If the piece of second-hand cyberware fail, it must be replaced. No repair is possible.

The potential failure of a piece of cyberware should only be used to increase dramatic tension, and not to harass the players. It is quite possible that it would never be appropriate at any time during the adventure for a particular character to make a roll against that piece of cyberware. So be it.

This option should only be used to add fun to the game, and not as an excuse for sudden character mortality.

CYBERWARE DAMAGE

How can this happen?, you ask. Very easily, comes the reply. Whenever a cyberware-bearing body takes traumatic damage, there is a chance, based on the severity of the wound, that one or more pieces of cyberware will become damaged and dysfunctional. In Shadowrun, a traumatic wound is any single wound of Serious or Deadly severity. That Serious or Deadly wound must be from one bullet, one blow, or one zap of magic, and it must be physical damage.

    Determine System Type
                      1D6
    Headware          1-3
    Bodyware          4-6

    Determine Specific System
   Headware               2D6          Bodyware              2D6
     Cybereye             2-3            Cyberarm            2-3
     Data/Chipjack        4-5            Reflex Modifier     4-6
     Memory System        6-7            Skillwire System    7-8
     Other Cybersystem    8-9            Other Cybersystem    9
     Cyberear            10-12           Cyberleg           10-12

DAMAGE TABLE DEFINITIONS

HEADWARE

Data/Chipjack
Each jack should be counted individually.

Memory System
This category includes all data storage and memory access systems, excluding Data and Chipjacks, and Cortex Bombs. Count each memory storage individually. If any memory access or access-restricting systems fail, that accessory no longer serves its original function.

Other Cybersystem
This category covers all head-based Links, Displays and Communication systems. Each should be listed separately. This category does cover smartgun links, which can also be damaged under Bodyware.

BODYWARE

Cyberarm/Leg
This category includes all arm or leg-based cybernetic devices, as well as an entire cyberlimb, if present. If this category is indicated, determine whether it is the right or left limb (1-3 = right; 4-6 = left) and then count appropriate cyberware systems. The cyberlimb itself should also be counted. If it fails, all devices linked into it also fail. Program Carriers ar an Arm Accessory and should be included with the appropriate limb.

Reflex Modifer
This includes Wired Reflexes and Vehicle Control Rigs. Boosted Reflexes are not affected.

Skillwire System
This category covers all Skillwire-like, chip-based skill neuro-system links.

Other Cybersystem
This includes any and all systems not covered by one of the above categories, including syberware mounted in odd places, and Speech and Voice modification systems.

Any Damaged system must be Repaired. If the same system is damaged more than once before it is repaired, it must be replaced.

If the damaged system is used cyberware, any damage to the system results in a complete loss of the cyberware, which must be fully replaced.

Karma can be spent to purchase a re-roll if a damage result is undesirable. The cost is 1 Karma Point per re-roll. This can be repeated as often as the player wishes until he gets the desired result or else runs out of Karma.

CYBER REPAIR

The Base Time for repair of a piece of broken cyberware is equal to the Base Essence (unmodified Essence) Cost of the broken system, multiplied by 2 hours.

The repairer has a repair Target Number based on the severity of the wound that caused the original system failure. A Serious Wound has a Target Number of 4, a Deadly Wound of 8.

Use the modifier table given with the Build/Repair skill use description.

If a repair is made on Alpha or Beta Grade Custom Cyberware, double the final Target Number for Alpha Grade and triple it for Beta Grade.

Each success generated reduces the repair time required. Divide the Base Time by the number of successes to determine the actual repair time.

The cost for the repair has two factors: Parts and Labor. If the wound is Serious, the Parts cost is equal to the cost of the original cyberware multiplied by .15. If the wound is Deadly, its repair cost is equal to the original cost multiplied by .35.

Labor is based on the repairer's Skill Rating. The Base Charge is equal to 50 nuyen for each skill point per hour. Technicians with a facility up-to-daye enough to warrant Superior on the Build/Repair Modifiers Table also charge an additional usage fee, usually an amount quadrupling his charge (x4).

The Labor charges assume that the character cannot fast-talk a friend into doing the fix for him. It is also conceivable that a Technician or Street Doc could charge far in excess of the base charges listed above. It is, after all, a seller's market.

UPGRADING CYBERWARE

All cyberware upgrades or replacement procedures are Elective Surgery. No medical rolls are necessary for the surgery itself, for we assume technology has progressed to a state where table deaths are very rare.

The attending physician (or whoever is performing the surgery) does make a roll to determine how well he performed the surgery. Good surgery can reduce Essence Cost, while sloppy surgery can increase it. The character performing the surgery must make a Biotech (B/R) Skill Roll against a Target Number equal to 10 minus the new Essence of the character undergoing surgery. His new Essence is the rating he receives if the current surgery occurs without difficulties. After the Surgery Roll, consult the Essence Cost Table, below.

Apply the percentage listed to the Essence Cost to determine the actual Essence Cost. If the Essence Cost would leave the character with Essence of less than 0, surgery will be suspended prior to death, the cyberware left uninstalled, and the character's Essence is at 0.

As an option, the gamemaster may choose not to inform the player of his character's current new Essence. In this case, the player would only know what his Essence is as a result of successful surgery. It is then his option to take any further risks with additional surgery down the line.

Taken from the pages of Jens-Arthur Leirbakk